Why retractions alone do not protect India’s scientific record
Scientific research in India faces challenges as retracted papers continue to be cited, undermining the integrity of the academic record. Studies show that a significant percentage of citations occur after a paper has been retracted, often due to a lack of awareness or self-citation practices.
Why it matters
The persistence of retracted research in the scientific record poses a risk to public health, policy-making, and the overall reliability of scientific advancement.
Once a journal publishes a research paper, other researchers can keep citing that work and build on it to produce more research. Sometimes, this continues even after, say, the journal withdraws the original paper because it contains a mistake or, as is increasingly the case, it was produced by fraudulent means. So simply withdrawing a faulty paper does not correct the research record: the work based on it also needs to be checked and, if necessary, undone.
More research papers are being retracted than ever before. This is because researchers are also publishing more papers today — and because stakeholders, like journal editors and independent experts, are scrutinising papers more carefully.
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